~*~Initiation of Pratismriti Mantra~*~
Before I start writing this chapter, I am specifically thankful to Varaali and DharmaPriya
Their OS on Yudhishthira and Arjun , 'The Farewell' , which was posted around 8 years ago has given me the idea for the plot line of the story. I am extremely thankful to them for allowing me to use their idea for my story.
Here I start with the chapter
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That night passed very quickly and soon it was time for my morning prayers. But Sahadev was not willing to leave me alone. So, he tagged along with me as I went towards the river bank.
Scholars have very rightly addressed rivers as mothers. Just like a baby forgets all its pains and troubles the moment he enters its mother's lap; the cold refreshing water of river Saraswati made me forget all my pains and worries and filled my soul with peace. After taking ablutions and making myself pure, I offered flowers to the maker of the day and prayed with all my devotion to bless everyone. All this while, Sahadev was keeping a watch over the surroundings. After I was done, he quickly took bath and offered prayers to Lord.
Till the time we returned, all my remaining brothers and Panchali had awakened. From Bheem's and Arjun's expression, it was evident that our absence had caused them to worry. But seeing us return, both heaved a sigh of relief. Had we been a little late to return, they would have spilled everything about the night's incident to Nakul and Panchali despite my forbidding.
We were about to start our daily activities, when we heard a very familiar voice, "Hari Om Tat Sat!!" We looked towards that direction to find, Maharishi Vedvyas approaching us.
We looked towards that direction to find, Maharishi Vedvyas approaching us. All six of us approached towards him and humbly touched his feet. He blessed all of us. Then we respectfully took him inside our hermitage and made him sit on a hay mat. Kalyani immediately fetched a white stone plate and a small clay pitcher containing water. Placing Maharishi's feet on that stone plate, I carefully washed his feet. Then using my angvastra, I wiped them dry. Sahadev, by then, had brought some flowers. We, devotionally, offered those flowers at the feet of Maharishi and sought his blessings. Kalyani worshipped Maharishi by offering madhuparka[1], some fruits and water. Maharishi gladly accepted the offering.
When he was refreshened and well rested, I sat near his feet, and humbly said, "Hey Maharishi, you have blessed our humble dwelling with the dust of your feet. Please, tell me, how can we serve you." He smiled back at me replied, "Raajan, I haven't come here on my own. Your soul has asked me to come." I was surprised. It's true that after the debate episode, I desperately needed guidance from someone. Once again, as if reading my thoughts, he said, "Don't get so surprised my vatsa (child). The sole purpose of my birth is to help you in establishing dharma. Your brothers and your wife are not capable to see your what you are seeing. You all are one yet you are different. But your fears are not baseless."
Nakul interrupted, "Please forgive me Lord for interrupting you, but may I know which fears are you talking about?" Maharishi smilingly answered, "Vatsa, your jyeshth is fearing for your welfare and safety. When I came for Rajsurya Yagya, I had warned Yudhishthira about the impending war. He never wanted unnecessary bloodshed. So, he chose his humiliation over the death of all the innocent soldiers, by accepting the invitation for a game of dice."
My brothers were shocked with the revelation. Maharishi continued, "Since you all have left for exile, Duryodhana has made alliances with many kingdoms and all those kingdoms will be present at his side, if war takes place now. Even your Pitamaha, Guru Drona and Kul Guru Kripacharya would be bound to fight for Duryodhana. Under such situation, if you all decide to wage war now, your doom is certain. So, please listen to your jyeshth and use these 12 years to get prepare for that huge war."
My brothers, to some extent, were convinced with Maharishi's idea. Maharishi had indeed lifted a huge weight from my soul by making my brothers understand the reasons for the avoiding war, in the best possible manner. Then, my brothers took permission to leave in order to accomplish their assigned duties for the day. Kalyani, too went to take bath and prepare food for everyone.
Now only I was sitting with Maharishi. He said to me, "Vatsa, I have also come here to teach you something. And I shall teach that, tomorrow at Brahma muhurta. Just the way a farmer prepares the soil before sowing seeds, your body and mind need to be prepared too to bear that seed of knowledge. So, I want you to engage in austere meditation from this moment, so that your mind and body gets ready by tomorrow." "As you wish." I agreed. Without any further question, I went to meditate after informing Kalyani while Maharishi went to meet other sages and brahmans.
I chose a peaceful location under the shed of a banyan tree, sat under it in a lotus posture and started meditating. At first my body started feeling relax and at peace. My breathing rate started getting lower and lower. Initially, the multiple thoughts which were running across my mind, started reducing until there were none. Soon I lost count of time and entered a complete state of unawareness.[2]
*****
Arjun's POV
After completing last rites of Jatasura with Majhle Bhaiya, and hunting, we returned to the hermitage in the afternoon to make arrangements for serving lunch to the Brahmans and sages. Jyeshth was nowhere to be seen. He did not return, even while serving food to our guests. Nakul and Sahadev had returned by then. When Panchali called us to have our lunch, we saw she had served food for just four of us.
Jyeshth's absence and the last night's incident had worried three of us. I asked her, "Panchali, where is jyeshth? Won't he join us for lunch?" She replied, "Aryaputra had gone to meditate, and will return tomorrow morning."
Jyeshth's sudden engagement in such austere meditation had quite surprised me. I knew, it had some connection with Maharishi's arrival. My mind was blowing with millions of questions. Also, him skipping his meals since the last night was making me worried for his health. But answers to all those questions only after jyeshth's arrival. It was futile to ask Maharishi the reason, because the Maharishi, Kakashri Vidura and Keshava were persons whose speech was only capable of being understood by the person to whom they intended to convey. We four of us quietly had our lunch. Panchali too ate after that.
(End of Arjun's POV)
I was into such deep state of meditation that I never realized when brahma muhurta had arrived. I remember, at certain point, I heard a soft voice calling me, "Vatsa Yudhishthira, open your eyes now." Slowly, I opened my eyes and saw Maharishi standing before. I bowed infront of him. He said, "Kalyanamasthu! Vatsa, the time has arrived, when I impart you that knowledge. Now go and after taking ablutions in the purest water of river Saraswati, come to me." I affirmed and went to follow his orders.
After purifying my body, I returned to Maharishi and sat infront of him. He said in his ever calm voice, "Vatsa, today I am going to impart the knowledge of Pratismriti Mantra. You shall pass this mantra to Arjun. This mantra shall help him to obtain celestial weapons, which have been kept at the safe custody of Devraj Indra. With the help of these celestial weapons, Arjun will be able to defeat formidable warriors like your Pitamaha, Guru Drona, Ashwathama, Karna, etc." Saying this he started chanting the shloka and asked me to repeat after him. After few repetitions when he was convinced that the I had got the right accent and tone of the shloka, stood up from his place.
I prostrated infront of him and touched his feet. He pulled me up and said, "Don't worry, your brother will be successful in his penance. After all, your brother is reincarnation of celestial sage Nara, who is a companion of the Supreme Narayana." He paused for a moment and said, "You must be thinking why I chose you as the median when I could have directly imparted this knowledge to Arjun."
I nodded, Maharishi continued, "Vatsa, your brother may be a reincarnation of sage Nara, but in this birth, he doesn't remember anything about his previous birth. In order to undertake such severe austerity your brother needs to be guidance from you. Further, in order to make his penance successful in the very first attempt, he would need to obtain more fruits of virtues, which he can obtain only from you. For that, even you would have to perform penance day and night until you make his mind and soul ready for initiation. Then after, giving initiation, you will have to transfer the fruits of your virtues and penance to him."
Maharishi blessed me one last time and disappeared then and there.
When I returned our hermitage after offering my prayers, all my brothers and Panchali were already awake. Seeing me coming, they, excluding my Kalyani, rushed, and started shooting multiple questions at me. I preferred to stay quiet, for I was not able digest the fact that Arjun would depart from us for God knows how long. This time also, only I shall be the reason for his departure.
After making myself stone hearted, I called all my brothers and Panchali and said, "From now onwards, until I order, Arjun shall survive only on air and water. "All of them were beyond shocked. Panchali, Nakul, and Bheem were extremely displeased, while Arjun was hurt. Sahadev was quiet.
Panchali objected, "Aryaputra, may I know the reason for such punishment for Arya Arjun? In my opinion, he has not done anything worth receiving such punishment." I looked at Arjun and said, "Arjun, do you have any problem in following my order." Arjun shook his head negatively and replied, "Jyeshth, from this moment, I shall remain abide by your order." I just looked at him and went into the woods forbidding Panchali to wait for me for lunch.
Arjun's POV
What have I done so wrong that jyeshth punished me so severely; this thought kept revolving around my mind again and again. But from jyeshth's tone it was clear that my question was going to remain unanswered for the time being. The first day of my punishment passed with ease. We, excluding majhle bhaiya, regularly practiced one day fasting rituals since childhood.
On the second day, jyeshth called me up and said, "From today onwards only you shall, take the responsibility of serving food to the brahmans, sages and all our brothers and Panchali." Unable to deny his order, I helplessly agreed. At lunch time, while serving, my mind was restless. Being in such proximity with food in an empty stomach was making me crave for it. Whole day I kept on thinking only about food.
On the third day, jyeshth again called me. This time he rebuked me, "Arjun, you have disappointed me by disobeying my order." I was spellbound. I interrupted, "Never jyeshth. Since, the day before yesterday, I have not consumed anything other water. I promise." Jyeshth immediately replied, "But you kept thinking about food and craving for it all day. Whether you consume food by your mouth or by your mind, it does not matter. From now onwards, I don't want you to even think about food. And you shall also go into the woods and collect timber and dried grass for bed." This time also I agreed, reluctantly.
With no food in the past 3 days and excessive hardwork was weakening me. That night, jyeshth asked me to keep watch over the hermitage all night. I knew very soon I was going to collapse.
Looking at my condition Panchali was very sad. She, majhle bhaiya and Nakul were furious with jyeshth. They had stopped talking to him. Even I was extremely hurt with jyeshth's behaviour. That night, when everyone had slept, Panchali came to me with a small pitcher of milk. She insisted me to consume it, "Aryaputra, you did not eat anything since last 3 days. Please have this milk."
I denied, "No Panchali, I cannot deny jyeshth's order." Panchali snapped, "But, this time, your jyeshth is wrong. We are in the middle of the forest, where danger is lurking at every step. What would we do if anything happens to you?" Panchali tried multiple ways to persuade me, but she could not succeed. With teary eyed she went inside the cottage.
Next morning, as always, jyeshth was the first one to wake up. I was going near him to touch his feet when suddenly I saw all black around me.
Next morning, as always, jyeshth was the first one to wake up. I was going near him to touch his feet when suddenly I saw all black around me. When my vision cleared, I saw jyeshth, crouching on the ground, was making me drink water. After drinking water, when I was a bit settled. I abruptly moved away from him. From his expression, it was clear that jyeshth was taken aback by my action. "What happened Anuj?" I replied in a discontented tone, "Jyeshth, I want to talk to you."
I started moving far from the cottage. Jyeshth followed me silently. When we were far from the earshot of my brothers and Panchali, I expressed my frustration, "Jyeshth, today I want an answer. Tell me what wrong have I done to you, that you are punishing me so hard."
Jyeshth tried to comfort me, "Anuj, whatever I am doing...." I cut him in the middle, "I don't want to listen your words of pacification. Either you tell me what mistake, I have made or release me from this punishment."
Jyeshth tried once again, "Dhananjay, what has made you so angry that you are losing your senses?" Jyeshth's this question increased my frustration by 10 times, I replied, "Jyeshth, isn't this behaviour natural from a person, who had not eaten anything since last 3 days?" Jyeshth calmly replied, "No. Look at me, do you see any sign of frustration or agitation."
Now this was my turn to get surprised. I started remembering, since the day jyeshth gave me this punishment, he used to remain absent for the entire day and only returned during dinner time. When, Draupadi would asked him for dinner, he denied saying he was not hungry[3]. Draupadi thought that he had eaten wild fruits and berries in the forest. Also, she was displeased with his order, so did not ask him much. Also, before that, he had been fasting for 1 and half day on account of performing austerity and his abduction by Jatasura. I was flabbergasted realizing that my jyeshth had also been fasting with me since last 4 and half days.
He said, "As per Maharishi's direction, I have been fasting since last 4 days. Also, I have been engaged in conducting penance all day and night since, Maharishi's departure. At night also, I might appear to be sleeping but in reality, I practise yog samadhi during those prahars. Does my behaviour at all reflects my physical state?"
My frustration was immediately replaced by repentance. Kneeling in front of him, I placed my hands and head at his feet, tears were welling up in my eyes. The gentle touch of his hand on my head soothed and comforted me. "Forgive me, jyeshth.", I wept. "I have failed you. I am incompetent to carry out your order." Holding my shoulders, he lifted me to a sitting position. He began to speak softly "Anuj, you are not incompetent. You just do not know how to channelize your inner strength."
I looked at him questioningly. Realizing my confusion, he continued "Arjun, staying without food is a kind of penance. The body must be nourished, but not through food. I knew you were not aware of this technique, but you never sought assistance." I realized my mistake. I was too proud of my obedience. Because of that I had unnecessarily suffered for so long. I felt guilty.
Jyeshth then started teaching me about yog and pranayama through which I could nourish my body through just air and water. These techniques, he said, would help me channelize my thoughts in to energy, calm my mind and help me get into a meditative state.
After practicing those techniques, for two prahars, surprisingly my strength returned. That day, I not only fulfilled all the tasks assigned to me but also challenged Nakul in a wrestling match and easily defeated him. Like this, 2more days went by. Both of us continued fasting. On the night of the 5th day, he asked me to reach the banks of river Saraswati the next day before brahma muhurta.
I reached there on time. Jyeshth, in meditating posture, was already waiting for me. His face and body had a celestial glow. I went infront of him and bowed down infront of him. He blessed me and asked me to sit infront of me. After that, he started telling me everything what Maharishi had told him about Pratismriti Mantra and celestial weapons. I was extremely excited with the idea of going to my father's abode to obtain of those celestial weapons.
As per his instruction, I went to take bath in the river. On returning, he made me sat infront of him and started initiation of Pratismriti Mantra. I recited the shloka line line by line after him. After he was convinced that I had by-hearted the mantra. He said, "Anuj, now as per Maharishi's instruction I am going to transfer all the fruits of my virtues and penance to you." Saying this he placed his right hand on my head. A current seemed to pass through me. I felt charged and energized. My mind was experiencing a peace it had never experienced before. I realized my guru, my jyeshth, was transferring the fruits of his virtue and penance to me.
When the flow stopped, I prostrated infront of him and touched his feet. He lifted me up by my shoulders and said, "Anuj, may you get success in your penance." Saying this, he placed a softly kissed my forehead.
That day, jyeshth had cooked meals for everyone. When we were done with feeding the brahmans and the sages, he made all of us, including Panchali, sit and himself served our food. My brothers and Panchali were quite puzzled witnessing his changed behaviour. But no body dared to question him. Further, him, being serving our food was making us feel a bit uneasy, but the satisfaction which was dripping from his face, had stopped us from interrupting him.
After he had served us with food, I joined my hands at him and asked, "Jyeshth, please allow me to have my food." Jyeshth came and sat infront of me. Then taking a morsel from my plate, he fed me. His eyes were glassy and his lips were adored with a serene smile. I was lost in cherishing his serenity, when Panchali's question brought me out of my trance. "Aryaputra, I hope you have kept your share of food before serving us." Jyeshth looked at Akshay Patra to realize, out of the delight of serving, he had completely forgotten to keep his share. Masking his fault under his calm demeanor, he replied, "Don't worry Kalyani, I have no appetite."
I could no longer bear to see my brother remaining empty stomach, while I ate food. After all he had been fasting since last 7 days. So, looking at Panchali I said, "Panchali, do you know when we had our first meal at Hastinapur, Pitamah had challenged us to eat our food without folding our arms by the elbow." Panchali was quite puzzled. With a childlike curiosity she asked, "Arya, did you remain hungry then? How can someone eat without folding one's arm by the elbow." I replied, "Let me show you. And you know whose idea was this?" Saying this I took a morsel from my plate and fed it to jyeshth, thus breaking his fast. My other brothers and Panchali, who had by then realized that no food was left for jyeshth, followed the trail, and fed jyeshth morsels of their plates one by one.
That day's lunch was perhaps my best lunch since the starting of our exile.
As the night approached, the gloominess spread across our cottage, as the very next day, I was going to depart from my brothers for penance. Panchali had shattered. She kept on weeping. I tried my best to console her. My brothers were also very sad, time and again their lament was evidencing their grieve. But jyeshth's silence was hurting me the most. I knew, he would never show up his emotions, but inside he was crying too.
Just for my sake, he sacrificed his food and his sleep. He had been engaged in severe austerities since days and nights because in order to transfer one's fruits of virtues, one needs to penance pretty hard. That day, I felt myself extremely fortunate to have him as my jyeshth as well as my guru.
Author's Notes
[1] – Madhuparka refers to a nutritious drink made out of honey, curd and ghee or clarified butter.
[2] - I do not practise deep meditation, so I don't know exactly how it feels when one enters into deep meditation. The steps I mentioned is based on some research from internet and my imagination.
[3] - This is a clarification, that Yudhishthira did not lie to Draupadi when he said he was not hungry. The technique which he taught Arjun had helped him to nourish his body and in reality he did not feel hungry.
One more clarification, I felt like adding, is the answer to the question, why Maharishi Vedvyas said that Arjun can obtain the fruits of virtue and penance only from Yudhishthira.
Yudhishthira, being the son of Dharmaraj, was the most righteous person of that era. He had acquired the most no. of fruits of virtue through his righteous deeds throughout his life (excluding the dice game incident).
Now in order to obtain the celestial weapons from Lord Indra, Arjun had to go Amravati which is in Heaven, in his mortal body. For that he required much more fruits of virtue, than he had. To acquire such no. of fruits of virtue on his own, it would had have taken a very long time, hence Yudhishthira had to transfer all his fruits of virtue to Arjun to make his journey successful in a single attempt.
Further if you read the Mahaprasthan Parva of Mahabharat, you will get to see only Yudhishthira was able to enter the Heaven in his mortal body at the end of the life. Such was the power of his virtue which he acquired with his righteous deeds
[Disclaimer: Above clarification, my perceivance and logic. It has not been mentioned in the original text or anywhere]
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